Combination illuminating and sterilizing lamp



Jan. 27, 1948. M. 'M. BILOFS KY 2,434,980

COMBINATION ILLUMINATING AND STERILIZING LAMP Filed Aug. 20, 1943 c z: I I J0 113 17 15 INVENTOR Maxwell/113.1%};

TTORNEYS Patented Jena? 1948 zssaaao OFIFICE oormma'rron muminn'rmo m sraamrzmo LAMP Maxwell n. Biloisky, Newark, N. J.

Application August 20, 1943, erlal No. 499,396

The present invention relates to combined illuminating and sterilizing units.

1 Claim. (01. Mil-51.11)

A vapor electric sterilizing lamp that generates and transmits strong actinic rays is highly injurious to the human eye and so is not ueful for illumination. Since the glass tube of the ordinary ventional. complicated and costly constructions that require specialized mounting and terminal equipment, but on the contrary to attain the combined result by resort to a vapor electric lamp unit of substantially conventional external appearance with substantially conventional filaments and terminals and of substantially conventional size and shape of tube.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic view showing the combined illuminating and sterilizing lamp and fixture combination as installed.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view transversely I through Fig. 1, and

a Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of. another embodiment of the lamp unit per se.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the lamp of conventional appearance may include a cylindrical tube T having end disks or plugs It and ii and having numerals of Fig.2.

- 2 rays or ultra-violet rays shorter than those inthe visible spectrum.

The remainder of the transparent tube, that is, the section or strip is thereof intervening between the. edges iii-and 20 of the plain glass section is desirably also trough-shaped and is of suitable material, which is substantially transparent to the ultra violet or short wave, actinic or sterilizing rays. Section I8 may be of quartz, but is preferably of specialized glass transparent to ultra violet or sterilizing rays. One familiar type of such glass is characterized by containing about two per cent of boric oxide and having low iron oxide and titanium oxide content. The section It, desirably of the same thickness as section ii, is bonded at its lateral edges as a unitary and integral part of the plain glass section i'i. preferably by autogenous bonding or fusing of the sections under heat as at it and 20. Desirably the edges of contact between the plain and the ultra I violet glass sections extend radially of the tube.

as shown, for promoting facility of assembly.

that it is behind the plain glass section in use, in order to assure protection to the persons exposed to the lamp.

By way of example, the complementary sec tions ill and it may extend each for half the periphery ofthe tube. but ordinarily the plain glass section will extend along a greater arc than the ultra violet glass section. The ultra violet glass section It is illustratively shown as of 60 degree width in Fig. 2 and such section it as of 90 degree width in, Fig. 3. In Fig. 3 the reference numerals for corresponding parts are the primed In a preferred installation, the lamp is mounted in a fixture which may be conventional and prea pair of terminal prongs It at one end connected by the filament i3 and a like pair of terminal prongs it at the opposite end connected by the filament it. The filaments are covered with thermionic material. such as barium' oxide and the chamber is filled with low pressure gas, prefous trough-shaped portion i1, extending fromend to end of the tube T, is of the type of glass customary for lighting, ordinarily of lead or lime glass, which. while transparent to the luminous rays, is substantially impervious to the actinic. so

sents spaced sockets 22 for the terminal prongs l2 and it. The sockets 22 are of the conventional construction in which the pair of prongs at each end of the lamp are not in the plane of the sheet as shown, but in a. plane perpendicular thereto.

The fixture is equipped with a reflector 23 which may be continuous and conventional. Preferably, however, it departs somewhat from the conventional in that its mid-section is open at 24 for the length of the reflector and desirably has intumed flanges 25 substantially registering with the lateral edges of the sterilizing section I8.

Thus, in use of the lamp, with the reflector as customary either behind or above the luminous unit, the sterilizing section It is always behind the glass section I! so that the actinic rays that pass through said sterilizing section it will not reach the eyes of the persons near the fixture. I

important that the luminous vapor emit potent actinic rays. It will also be understood of course that the invention could be carried out in a structure generally of the type of the prior Patent No. 2,298,336, issued October 13, 1942, on application 01' Maynard A. Babb, in which the unit is mounted from one end only.

Changes could be made in the above construction and diflerent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claim. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and'not in a limiting sense except to the extent that such limitations: are imposed by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

A combined lighting and sterilizing fixture comprising a terminal and carrier structure for a vapor electric lamp, a vapor electric lamp carried therein and having disks at the opposite ends thereof, electrodes carried thereby, said lamp having a tubular casing, the entire length of which for the major portion of the peripheral area thereof being 01' glass characterized by substan- Number tial impervlousness to the ultra violet rays generated in the lamp and transparency to visible rays. said glass portion extending along substantially that area of the lamp which in the installed fixture is directly exposed to view, the remaining area of the lamp tube, thatis, the portion which in the installed fixture is behind said glass portion being of ultra violet glass and being bonded as a unitary portion with the edges of the glass portion, said fixture including a reflector for projecting the light through the first glass portion to the field of vision, said reflector presenting a passageway therethrough concealed from view by the lamp and having radiating walls the length thereof registering with the lateral edges or the ultra violet glass portion for permitting the sterilizing action without injury to the eyes.

M. BILOFSKY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Marcien et al. July 11, 1933 Zecher Oct. 10, 1933 Randall et al. Nov. 8,- 1938 Bucky July 81, 1928 Roper July 1, 1941 Deane May 26, 1942 Axelos et al. July 28, 1936 Beese Sept, 15, 1942 Lew Nov. 10, 1942 Garstang Dec. 28, 1943 Brandt Feb, 4. 1930 Greenwald Jan. 11, 1944 

